A safe little bubble for you and me

Where the dangers are kept at bay

And we can stare at the world

Through that filmy layer that keeps

Us floating above the chaos below

With our stresses and worries and woes

Kept safely three feet in tow.

I have this thing with escaping when the world feels tough. When things have felt really bad, I’ve even considered just getting in the car and driving until there is no road left. And I think that is because I often feel like I am in a precarious place and running away will offer me a safe little bubble to recuperate in.

Recently, I have been remembering being eighteen and living in London – I guess it’s because Noah is approaching that age and it’s bringing up lots of memories.

Anyway, I lived right in Zone One of London which is always noisy and hectic and there were times when I didn’t want to travel all the way home to my parents, but I did feel like I needed to get out of the chaos.

I had a friend who lived in Leytonstone which is about five miles outside the centre of the city. You could get there in half an hour on the Tube and I would just go there to feel like I was safe.

He lived in a little flat that looked out over a park that was massive and it had a lake in the middle of it. We would go for walks and in the evening we would have barbecues on the side of the lake. It felt like a different world, and yet, if you stood on the bridge by his flat, you could look out and see the buildings of the London financial district.

I think we all need out little bubbles to run away to. I’m not talking about holidays or big moves, just places a few miles out from where we normally spend our time, where we can stand and look back at our normal lives and see that really it is only a tiny dot on the horizon. Nothing to worry about at all.

Much Love

Rachel xx